Flashes
by forestwife
Summary: SPOILERS for ‘Reset’. You never know until it’s too late, but it’s true what they say. When you die, your life flashes before your eyes. Please R&R!


Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood.

Summary:SPOILERS for 'Reset'. You never know until it's too late, but it's true what they say. When you die, your life flashes before your eyes.

WARNING – MAJOR SPOILERS for RESET. If you haven't seen it, don't read!

Flashes

He'd never actually thought it would happen this way.

Working for Torchwood was a dangerous job, so he'd always known it was likely it would get him killed someday... but not like this. He'd pictured himself going down in a blaze of glory at the hands of a hostile alien, maybe whilst saving the world even... but not like this.

They'd already won. By rights it shouldn't have been like this. They'd stopped the bad guy, saved Martha and shut down the research facility. It should have been over and done with. But then there'd been Dr Coplin. When he'd come out of the building brandishing a gun, Owen had never actually thought he would shoot. He'd never thought that a desperate old man with a gun would prove to be his undoing... but it had.

One moment he'd been trying to persuade Coplin to put the gun down, and the next he'd been lying on the floor. It hadn't hurt, which was strange, considering he now had a huge hole in his chest. He'd been shot before, and that had really hurt. But now he just felt cold.

He was a doctor, so he knew exactly what was happening to him. He was going into shock. And as he felt the blood bubbling up his throat, he knew he wasn't going to survive. Even as he heard Martha talking to him, trying to save him, he knew he wouldn't make it.

He was going to die, but he wasn't afraid, he wasn't even angry. The only thought that crossed his mind was that he was letting everyone down... and he'd never be able to take Tosh out for that drink.

He tried to tell her he was sorry, but his mouth didn't seem to want to obey him anymore. He was sure she'd understand though... people ought to be used to him letting them down by now, he'd done it enough.

_Flash_

The vision of his father leaving came before his eyes. He'd only been a child, but he'd seen his mother's accusing eyes, telling him that somehow it was all his fault.

_Flash_

Various other scenes played out from his childhood, and it seemed that he couldn't do anything right in any of them. His mother would always say he'd let her down, she'd scream at him '_I love you because you're my son, but that doesn't mean I have to like you.'_

_Flash_

His mother packing his bags for him. Him leaving home. He wasn't even an adult, but he felt that he was more than old enough to take care of himself. Especially if it meant he could get away from _her._

_Flash_

Working in the hospital. All the people he'd saved, and all the people he'd been too late to help, all the people he'd _failed_ to help.

_Flash_

Failed relationships. He had more than he could count of those. Most were little more than casual flings to him, but some he felt had been more, or _could_ have been more. Like with Gwen, or Diane, or Tosh.

_Flash_

Torchwood. Jack. Gwen. Ianto... Tosh.

They were a team, a family almost, and they were the best thing that had ever happened to him, even if he'd never admit it to anyone but himself. With them, it didn't matter how messed up he was, because he could see that none of them had been left unscathed by life's trials.

They were pretty much the only friends he had. And with Tosh he'd even thought there was the chance of being something more than friends... but not anymore. He'd let her down. He'd let them all down in one way or another.

But there was nothing he could do about that now. There was no time for regrets, he was dying, and unlike Jack, he couldn't come back from that.

So as the edges of his vision began to go black, and the fuzzy shapes of his friends bending over him starting fading away into oblivion, Owen Harper breathed his last.

_I'm sorry..._

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A/N: Yeah there wasn't really much point to this, but after seeing 'Reset' I just had to write something. It really annoyed me that he died because I was only _just_ beginning to really like him! Up until a few episodes ago, I'd have said I wouldn't care if Owen died, but then there was him being all cute in that episode, and the scene with Tosh...

Anyways, I've taken a few liberties with Owen's past, and this was very hastily written, but please tell me what you thought!

Review!


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